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TETENAL · Apr 6, 2006, 06:49 AM

It seems there is now a software that can run Windows in parallel to OS X in a virtual machine without rebooting. That of course would be much more useful than Boot Camp.

http://www.parallels.com/en/products/workstation/mac/

harrisjamieh · Apr 6, 2006, 07:09 AM

Installing now...

icruise · Apr 6, 2006, 07:32 AM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

That of course would be much more useful than Boot Camp.

Yes and no. I doubt very much that this would be able to run games properly, which is one of the big attractions for many people in running WIndows on a Mac. But I agree that to be able to run Windows programs at the same time as Mac OS X programs would be great. That said, I was really hoping for something that wouldn't require installing an entire virtual machine (an OS within an OS) a la Virtual PC, but would rather allow you to just run a Windows program by itself, within OS X. I believe this is possible in Linux, and should be doable in some form on the Mac.

harrisjamieh · 04:06 PM

Right, I installed it, and first impressions are not great. Performance is OK, but not nearly as good as it is when booting into OSX. The program also feels clunky and unfinished - though it is a beta program. Couple o' screen shots:

[removed oversize images --tooki]

TETENAL · Apr 6, 2006, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by Icruise

I doubt very much that this would be able to run games properly, which is one of the big attractions for many people in running WIndows on a Mac.

Most people are using a gaming console for games anyway.

Let's say you are doing web development and need to check in Internet Explorer for Windows, then running Windows in parallel to Mac OS X is much more useful than constant rebooting. Or let's say you have some small but critical application that is Windows only which you need for work. You might need to be able to run this at the same time as the other applications you are working with and couldn't even get any work done if you rebootet only for such an app.

starman · Apr 6, 2006, 09:08 AM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Most people are using a gaming console for games anyway.

Let's say you are doing web development and need to check in Internet Explorer for Windows, then running Windows in parallel to Mac OS X is much more useful than constant rebooting. Or let's say you have some small but critical application that is Windows only which you need for work. You might need to be able to run this at the same time as the other applications you are working with and couldn't even get any work done if you rebootet only for such an app.

"Most people"?

No, you're wrong. 6 million people playing WoW, 500,000 playing EQ2, millions more playing Guild Wars and Lineage II, not to mention Far Cry, Quake, UT, etc. No, there are still a lot of people using their PC for gaming.

You're 100% right about testing web browsers and such.

slugslugslug · Apr 6, 2006, 09:10 AM

OMG!! It's the end of the Mac OS! We're all going to die!!!!

!!!!!!

Oh. Sorry. Anyway, this looks like a better solution for most people than Boot Camp. If I'm going to run Windows on an Intel Mac (when I get one), I'd prefer not to have to leave OS X entirely.

Hopefully this and other virtualization products will allow you to use the same volume you would use for booting, like you can do with OS 9 on pre-2003 Macs.

addiecool · Apr 6, 2006, 09:57 AM

My reviews here:

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...36#post2941136

sined13 · Apr 6, 2006, 01:29 PM

Not to say that the solution from Parallels isn't (or won't be) a good one, but personally, I would go with VMWare when/if they release a version for Mac.

I am a PC guy (soon to buy my first Mac) and VMWare is a proven and quite stable application. For those of you not familliar with VMWare, it's what Parallels does, but they've been at it for quite some time.

IMHO, I think a combination of virtualization software + dual boot (in 10.5) will be the way to go as it (obviously) provides the best of both worlds.

addiecool · Apr 6, 2006, 01:30 PM

Not the end of Mac OS. Maybe a wider customer base will buy Intel Macs due to this and get a hands on experience with Mac os compared to the XP garbage. This is a big gamble. either it will take Apple to new highs or .... well.....

Originally Posted by slugslugslug

OMG!! It's the end of the Mac OS! We're all going to die!!!!

!!!!!!

Oh. Sorry. Anyway, this looks like a better solution for most people than Boot Camp. If I'm going to run Windows on an Intel Mac (when I get one), I'd prefer not to have to leave OS X entirely.

Hopefully this and other virtualization products will allow you to use the same volume you would use for booting, like you can do with OS 9 on pre-2003 Macs.

Gee4orce · Apr 6, 2006, 02:02 PM

It would be handy if the Parallels / VMWare app could use the same install of Windows as Boot Camp, no ?

dawho9 · Apr 6, 2006, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by Gee4orce

It would be handy if the Parallels / VMWare app could use the same install of Windows as Boot Camp, no ?

I was thinking about this last night. That would be very interesting indeed (of course the read-only NFTS stuff would need to be handled).

dw9

tooki · Apr 6, 2006, 04:05 PM

Parallels is an application (it's even in the Dock in the screenshots). We have a whole amazing Applications forum for discussing applications. Try it. It doesn't bite (often)!

tooki